A majority of men are not greatly involved in the daily chores at home but for financial needs.
John Paul A, a married man with children may be one of the rare fathers at home. He is yet to abandon house chores he learned from his mother when he was a child. Above 40 years, John Paul still finds time to make up the bed, wash dirty dishes, clean the home and even wash the dirty dresses or under-wears of his wife. John Paul has no complex in carrying out daily chores at home. On Saturdays when he has no office work, he is happy to wake up early from bed, tidy the kitchen and prepare breakfast for his entire family. “I usually feel satisfied when I realise I can serve my family and assists in household chores” John Paul noted.
John Paul activities at home are greatly different from that of most Cameroonian fathers. Peter A, will hardly be seen making up the bed or trying to see if the kitchen is tidy or not. Peter even busts into laughter when he was asked if he makes up the bed when he is the last person to wake up. According to Peter, either his wife or the house-help handle such issues which can never cross his mind to do. “My duty is to work money in a bid to take care of the financial problems at home”, Peter said. The much Peter can do is to play with the kids and once in a while sees into their school assignments.
Paul L, on his part had good skills in cooking and in carrying out household chores when unmarried. But now such skills have died down since he got married. “My wife and other family members insist to do the entire job at home and wish to see me sit and relax”, Paul stressed. But Paul breaks the bounds at times and tries to cook the dishes he loves most. In doing so, Paul’s wife will always come around to assist him and make sure that the cooking process goes on well. Whatever the case, Paul is usually pleased when he is making up the bed, especially with the assistance of his wife. But this is not the case within the family of Theophile N, who does not have the opportunity to make up his bed. “The bedroom is Madame’s interior affair”, Theophile noted. Theophile’s wife insists on making sure that their bed room is in order. Talking about the other household chores, the house-help takes care of that. Besides the fact that couples try to share household chores, statistics indicate that a majority of chores at home are carried out by house-help with women taking care of pertinent issues. Although, some men make efforts in carrying out chores at home yet a majority still believe their role is to provide the necessary finance.